Lunar: Black Star Rising
By Thomas Knapp
Chapter One
This was becoming a disturbingly recurring theme. Althena's little humans were stronger and more resourceful than probably even SHE realized. As his dark spirit began to diffuse into the swirling nether from which he was born, he gathered all the remnants of his power, and focused on his last task. He had meant what he had said to Hiro and Lucia.
If he could not control the Blue Star and Lunar, he would destroy them…
Gwyn's Tower…
"Okay, old man… why the hell have you called me here, and at this hour?" Lemina muttered sleepily. Anyone else, who had sent Ruby with an urgent message to come at the time the little red dragon did, she probably would have throttled. As it was, the current premier of Vane was entertaining such thoughts, and it was only respect for Gwyn's grandson that kept Lemina from turning the whole damn tower into Lunar's largest bonfire.
"I called you here because of all the people on Lunar, you are probably the only one who has studied enough to understand what I am going to say. Come up with me to the roof, and I'll show you what I'm talking about." With that, Lemina began to follow the elderly man up the rickety stairs of his home.
The first thing she noticed upon reaching the roof was that Gywn's giant telescope that he had built shortly after Hiro left for the Blue Star was pointed not at the Dragon Tower, which it normally was, and instead was focused upward, into the pre-dawn sky.
Gwyn chortled excitedly, then finally managed to blurt, "Well, a couple of things, to be precise. I've taken up pointing my telescope at the Blue Star ever since my grandson packed up and scuttled off to be with that girl of his." He adjusted the telescope so that it was pointing directly at the planet in the sky. "Take a look and see."
Lemina complied sleepily, and the sight before her was NEARLY enough to startle her to full alertness. The frosty surface of the planet bore a striking mark invisible to the eye without the help of the telescope; a patch of green, barely viewable through the cloud cover, stood out like a small blemish on the Blue Star's surface.
"Incredible, huh?" Gwyn mused, "No doubt Lucia and Hiro have managed to somehow speed up the Blue Star's recovery. But that, if you can believe it, is not my big surprise."
He nudged Lemina out of the way, and looking into the telescope began to adjust the large object, all the while explaining, "This little peculiarity I have been following for some time. At first I didn't know what to make of it, but now I think I know the answer."
Finally, Gwyn stepped aside, and allowed Lemina to gaze into the eyepiece. Her vision was filled with the edge of the Blue Star, but the telescope didn't seem to be centered on anything specific. "What am I supposed to be looking at?" She asked impatiently.
"Any moment now." Gwyn answered, "Watch the stars just off the horizon of the Blue Star."
Now curious, Lemina complied. After at least another minute of inactivity, she noticed one bright star, barely visible through the hazy reflection of the Blue Star, suddenly stop shining, much longer than what could be attributed to a mere flicker. Soon, other stars began to join the first, as if the hand of Althena herself had slipped in between the telescope and the stars in question.
"What is going on here, Gwyn?" Lemina asked, somewhat awestruck, as there was still no sign that the stars that had disappeared would be shining anytime soon.
"Every day during the summer months this year, this same phenomena has happened. It reached it's greatest height off from the Blue Star's horizon right on the day that sunlight is the longest, and it only appears off the horizon just as my side of Lunar begins the day."
"Meaning?"
"The Blue Star has another satellite like Lunar."
"WHAT? How can that be?" Lemina exclaimed, "Nowhere does it mention that the Blue Star has two moons. I mean, according to Lucia, people could see Lunar clearly from the surface of the Blue Star! Why would we only be able to tell that this one was there by watching what it blocks from view?"
"I can't begin to fathom." Gwyn replied, "There could be a multitude of reasons, but the behavior that this Black Star displays is consistent to what I theorized a satellite would do."
"The Black Star, huh?" Lemina smiled wryly, "You've already given it a name?"
Gwyn flushed, "As I said, I've been watching it for some time. The fact that it's movement seems so dependant on the Blue Star's position was the final bit of evidence I needed to reach my conclusion."
"Okay… so what is the point?" Lemina finally queried.
"Well, probably nothing, but what it implies could be important. If this object, this second moon of the Blue Star exists, then what else is out there that we do not know about?"
Lemina started to chuckle, but as she prepared to rain on Gwyn's parade, the sky behind her suddenly lit up with a glorious burst. Whirling around, she saw a giant ball of flame streak overhead, followed by a deafening boom that rocked her eardrums as it thundered by. The air from its passing was so disrupted that it generated a gust of wind that nearly knocked Lemina off her feet, and sent Gwyn crashing into the railing. Seconds later, it smashed into Lunar's surface several kilometers away, causing the earth to tremble from the impact, and caused Gwyn to lose his balance, nearly falling over the railing before Lemina managed to reel him back onto relatively stable ground.
When Lunar's bellow finally subsided, the pair looked at each other warily. No words were needed to exchange, as they both had the same idea in mind. Rushing back down the staircase as fast as safety allowed, they prepared for a hike to where the mysterious fireball had crashed.
Gypsy Camp, outside Nota…
'That is enough for me.' Jean decided as she took her weary body off the dancing floor, much to the dismay of her fellow gypsies. She shook her head as they begged for an encore, and finally managed to say breathlessly, "Listen… it's almost MORNING, I need to cool off, then I'm getting some sleep!"
With that, she headed off into a side clearing, fanning herself with her dancing fan. Even the crisp pre-dawn air wasn't enough to quickly chill the dancer, and so she sat down on a small fallen log, taking in deep breaths of air, closing her eyes as she fought not to fall asleep right there.
Thus, she heard whatever it was before she saw it. By the time she had opened her eyes, the object had nearly passed by, and all she could see were four glowing streams of flame spouting beneath the object.
Obviously, the rest of the camp had seen it too because their were various shouts of amazement, wonder, and even fear. Suddenly, the object appeared to stop just beyond the forest, and slowly began to descend to the ground.
After several minutes, Jean couldn't reign her curiosity any longer, and began to weave her way through the forest. Finally, she parted the last line of underbrush, and then nearly gasped at the sight.
It was a stocky mess of wires and tubes, all connected to a black conical center. Small devices, sort of like feet kept the central piece off the ground, and she gazed at the flames on the underside of the object died away until all that was left was an eerie orange glow.
There was silence for a short period before Jean decided to leave the cover of the brush, and approach the strange object cautiously. However, the heat that the object was radiating caused her to draw short. Soon, the strange mechanism began to cool, and Jean began to approach again, this time however she stopped when the panel right in front of her suddenly blew away from the object, landing mere centimeters from her feet. Looking back up, she saw a small set of steps appear at the foot of where the opening had just appeared…
